FIRST
TIME FOR
EVERYTHING
Since my husband, Max, is the experienced one,
I have always been happy to sit in the passenger
seat as we tow the camper to our destination.
But we recently started talking about what would
happen if, in a remote area, he became sick, was
bitten by a snake, had a heart attack, or became
otherwise incapacitated.
We have three kids, and it would be left to me
to pack the camper up, hitch up, and tow it to a
town. Would I be capable? The answer was an
unfortunate ‘no’.
RV FEATURE
down to having a supportive partner, someone
who is happy to teach rather than lecture, huff
and puff.
While ladies-learning-to-tow is important from
an emergency preparation perspective, no man,
no matter how much they might say otherwise,
can manage without a break behind the wheel.
And, as we discovered, Max rather enjoyed his
time in the passenger seat.
— Stacey Taylor
And so, as we headed from Melbourne to Forster-
Tuncurry, NSW, in late September, we switched
roles. While I had towed the camper for very short
(five-minute) stretches with his old red Land
Cruiser, his new MU-X made the experience less
nerve-wracking — it felt much more stable than
the Cruiser, which in turn gave me confidence.
The open Hume Highway gave me some
experience towing at 100km/h, how to perform
an overtaking manoeuvre, and how to handle the
rig when traffic was overtaking me. Strong wind
gusts and busy traffic were the main sources
of stress, and I still haven’t mastered the art of
reversing the van. But that will come in time.
I have come to the conclusion that, while many
skills come into play, towing a van comes down
to confidence and common sense. It also comes
Stacey is on her way to towing with confidence.
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